Emmett's Advantage
by Ms. Zoe
Summary: Twilight Shorts Series- I was inspired by something Emmett had said to Edward in Stephenie Meyer's unfinished novel, Midnight Sun. He asked Edward if he could turn off his mind-reading ability so that they could fight fairly. Once Bella's gift was discovered in Breaking Dawn, the final book in the Twilight Saga, I wanted to make Emmett's wish come true. (Edward's POV)


Author's Note: These characters belong solely to Stephenie Meyer. This short is merely a small continuation of the Twilight Saga, which she has written.

Recently, Alice has been forcing Bella to stay inside and work on her new wardrobe. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left my side. We didn't like to be apart in general, and this feeling only strengthened after our altercation with the Volturi. Uncharacteristically, Alice had acquiesced and gotten rid of Bella's unwanted wardrobe. This was the wardrobe that Alice bought during our honeymoon in preparation for when Bella came to live with us. Bella had cycled through the same 3 cotton shirts and 2 pairs of jeans throughout her newborn days. Alice, being the fashion aficionado that she is, noticed Bella's lack of variety, and consistently chastised her to no avail. After our troubles with the Volturi were over, and Alice had returned, she continued to bug Bella, but she could not be persuaded. They came to an agreement that Alice would design Bella a new wardrobe, with Bella's ability to veto and influence the clothing style. Not having the mind-reading skills that I do, Bella hadn't realized the commitment that this agreement entailed. Alice has been stealing Bella away for the last 6 weeks for "fashion duty", as she calls it. I made the greedy decision not to stop the "compromise" I saw in Alice's mind because I knew she would design a couple of dresses for Bella that I would certainly appreciate. Looking back on it, it was quite the selfish choice considering Bella's annoyance, but what can I say? I'm just a man.

"Hey, Bella!", Emmett called, "Come over here!" Emmett and I were wrestling at the back of the house. No matter how many times I beat him, he couldn't give it up. His stubborn nature just wouldn't let himself stop trying unless he won. And at this point, he would try anything. Losing continuously starts getting old after 70 years. Ever since Bella had shown the power that her immense gift gave her, our family had grown even more amazed with her natural comfort with vampire life. This amazement gave way to experiments involving her gift, which I was always called in to. They, especially Jacob, got a kick out of my inability to read minds when the subject was protected by Bella's shield. Consequently, it was not much of a surprise when I heard Emmett thinking of his new idea.

_Hey, I bet if Bella shields me while I fight him, I could win! I mean, look at him. Without his little mind-reading thing, there's no way he could beat me. You hear that Edward? You are going _down!

I chuckled. It was so like Emmett to look for any way to win. Even if it included giving himself an unnatural advantage. He didn't realize that my gift was just like his extra strength- these were the main things that made us extraordinary fighters. But I wouldn't clue Emmett in, he deserved his fun.

"What do you want, Emmett?" Bella was in a bad mood after spending all day with Alice's design program. She hadn't had time to play with Renesmee, and Jacob was taking advantage of that. I would need to speak with Alice about giving Bella a break. Neither Bella nor I were too keen on Jacob monopolizing Renesmee, especially after we no longer relied on him to care for her when the Volturi killed us.

"I just want to try a little something, Bella," Emmett smirked, very confident in his ability once mine was rendered useless.

"What is it?", Bella snapped.

"Emmett wants to see how he would fair in a fight where I could not read his mind," I explained. "Could you come over here and shield him, love?"

Bella dashed to my side, and we grasped hands. "Emmett," she called sternly, "If I see things getting out of hand, the shield is off, ok?"

"Whatever Bella. You're worse than Esme," Emmett said with annoyance, "No offense, mom."

"None taken, Emmett," Esme called while shuffling outside with Jasper, Alice, Jacob, and Renesmee to watch the fight.

Bella backed away and took Renesmee into her arms.

"Are you ready, Edward?", she asked.

"Yup," I challenged Emmett with a smirk, but I wasn't too convinced that I could win this fight.

All of a sudden, I couldn't hear his mind anymore. This came as a great shock because I had always trusted Emmett's mind to be clear and readable, never guarded.

Emmett took advantage of my surprise and charged at me head on. I tumbled backward and skidded across the lawn until I rammed into a large tree, which shook with the power of our collision. I got up in a flash and ran towards Emmett head on, which he reciprocated. Only, I could not tell that this was only a trick to deceive me. He had jumped off of a nearby spruce and landed at my side, with his teeth at my neck.

I cursed and ducked away from him. "You win, Emmett," I conceded, arms raised. I know knew that any fight where I could not read Emmett's mind would end much as this one did, and I didn't really want to subject myself to any more embarrassment.

Finally, Bella lifted away her shield, and I could finally hear again! What a relief!

Jacob was howling with laughter at my loss. "I want to try! I want to try!", he chanted, like a small child.

"That's okay, Jacob, I'm not likely to win," I told him.

"All the more reason to do it!", he said.

"Are you sure, Jacob?", Emmett chimed in, "I mean, it would be a very new experience for you, winning. Maybe you shouldn't try it just yet."

Emmett beckoned Jacob with a gesture, and without Renesmee to look after, Jacob took a leap, and in mid-air, he phased to his wolf form.

They tumbled around with each other, eventually rolling themselves violently into the forest.

I took Bella in my arms, and gave her a kiss on her forehead, and Renesmee a kiss on her cheek. No matter if I won or lost to Emmett, I was always grateful for my family. To Bella for her willingness to be with me and to be an immortal, and because of her strength and bravery to bring Renesmee into this world. To Renesmee, for always bringing light into our lives. And to the rest of my adopted family, for always being here for me, no matter the circumstances.


End file.
